I loved my Suzuki Sidekick 4 door because it was compact, simple, and looked great. While there are plenty of compact SUVs out there, the Sidekick had an actual low range 4WD system and was very capable offroad.

Suzuki Samurai/Jimny. Doesn’t even have to offer many upgrades, just bring it back to America.

I was a latch-key kid of the 80s with parents going through a divorce, but even those factors don’t excuse or explain my love of GM’s plastic-clad performance variants. Grand Prix, Beretta GTU, Eurosport VR... it’s amazing that I’m a functional adult.

6th grade me thought this ‘94 Mustang was the sexiest car I had ever seen.

In 1982, this was the coolest thing little me had ever seen. But oh boy were they terrible from performance to quality, everything:

Looked rad as hell, to 1980's kid me. And, then people started turning them into Ferraris and Lamborghinis! I mean how cool is that?

Little did I actually know, they were gutless little fire hazards.

It looks like the center stack of a poorly designed pickup truck interior (cough, cough, Ford F150).

F--k this.

Pretty sure those are Luminas, dude.

If you asked the question, “Who is Nissan?” or “Who is Ford?”, you would get confused looks. Maybe some people would name the CEO, if they even knew who it was.

Rendered up here:

No one is going to say it so I will... The GR Corolla should be included in this conversation. Yes I know it’s new and therefore evil. But the GR Corolla remains one of the most entertaining new cars I’ve driven in recent memory.

Renault 5 Turbo II (1980-84)

Ford Focus RS. Was still priced below the average new car in the US, serious performance, but an absolutely normal Focus for all your hatchback needs. Sure, the Golf R was a bit more grown-up, but the RS just feels more substantial.

I see the Lancia and I’ll raise the Ford Escort Cosworth, which I believe became the Focus RS later on. It did not win a WRC world title, but it had a fairly successful rally run, winning alot of titles in group A...Just look at that silly wing on the back, it’s awesome!

Clio V6

Maybe not the best, but there’s one little oddball that’s always had a place in my heart — the Mazda 323 GTX AWD Turbo. So over-achieving for its time (1989) but also so understated. I’ve only ever saw one once in the wild; it was zipping up a mountain road in Colorado.

Lancia Delta Integrale Evo 2

WRX. I’m hugely biased though, I’ve owned 2 different WRX hatch/wagons.